During the winter months, the shop slows down and we end up doing a lot of business over the internet. you can keep tabs on our ebay listings here. What this means for us is a lot of time shining up parts, taking pictures, making cardboard boxes as small as we can, and of course, trips to the post office, even if its in the middle of a record-breaking snowstorm.
This past saturday I cleaned up the shop Xtracycle and set it up with a pair of Nokian Extreme studded tires. With 294 studs, they kept both myself and the load of boxes, which filled two trash bags and the top of the Xtracycle, stuck to the road for the entire trip across town to the post office and Fedex.
I had a scary incident last week riding down south winooski on my own bike. I was holding off on the studded tires because i didn't want to spend the cash, hoping my 45mm knobby panaracer fire cross tires would get me through the year, and i was making a bank run for the shop. I slipped out on some ice and fell in the middle of the road, and before i could fully stand back up, the minivan behind me, unable to stop, slid right into my back and knocked me back over. Luckily they weren't going too fast and I was uninjured, and my bike was fine, but it was a lucky reminder that I needed to get the right equipment. I rode back to the shop and immediately purchased some studs.
So when I started out on my Xtracycle run I was a little nervous that the long wheel base and heavy load would be difficult to handle in the slippery weather, but it handled surprisingly well. There was never a second that I felt out of control. Combined with the appropriate cold weather wear and equipment such as a helmet, gloves, goggles and lighting, using studded tires can definitely make riding a bike through Vermont winter's not only possible, but quite safe and enjoyable.
If you're looking for a do-everything cargo bike, you need to come down to the shop and check out the Surly Big Dummy. They've designed the Big Dummy in conjunction with the Xtracycle, and with carrying big loads (up to 400lbs) in mind. It comes with Xtracycle's V-Rack bags and snapdeck, which make securing boxes and groceries and just about anything you'd want to carry with you a sinch.
The frame is 4130 cro-mo, as are all of their bikes, and they didn't skimp on the parts either. The complete comes spec'd with Surly's own Mr. Whirly cranks, a mountain triple, outboard bearing crankset that has a removable spider and can easily be converted to a double, or single, whatever suits your needs. Some other highlights of the build are the Shimano SLX/LX group set, the surly torsion bar made by nitto, deore XT rear disc hub, surly front disc hub, salsa gordo 26" rims, and avid bb7 mechanical disk brakes.
-Derek
This Wednesday cyclists will be gathering on State Street in Montpelier in front of the State House at 6:00 pm. Red and black armbands will be distributed and participants will be encouraged to wear them. We'll ride in respectful silence out to Middlesex and back on Route 2, a total of 12 miles.In light of the recent tragedy involving the death of a local kindergardner, we hope that this ride will open motorists eyes to the fact that they share the road with cyclists. In the past few years here in Burlington there have been sereral hit and run inncidents with major injuries and many more avoidable collisions. 
For specific course information and to register check out Mike's website: 
More information on RUSA and randonneuring. 
He had us lace this beauty up in a four cross pattern with Hoshi Bladed spokes to a 
The wheel turned out great and can't wait to see it along with it's pair rolling around the streets of Burlington. For those of you who don't know Blotto he's one of Burton snowboard's best photographers and has a great 
Last week Harris and Chris headed down to 
Independent Fabrication began with the closing of 
One of the best things about an Indy Fab bike is that it is your bike. There will never be an identical bike out there. IF is a small operation and this is evident in the process of making your bike. The whole process is more of a conversation with you, the bike shop (us), and the IF crew. They take pride in creating a bike to exactly fit you and your needs they told us, "there is never too much information. Besides your 
It was a great day down in Boston, after visiting IF we grabbed our bikes and rode around visiting with our counter parts at some of the local shops. We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch recomendation of 
One bike that Glenn was really interested in and would have been a excellent addition to the museum here is this 1880's high wheeled bike that is outfitted to ride on ice.
Check out the handmade runners on the rear of the sled.There was also this fully restored Union H.T.S. that went for around $20,000.
The Report was that it was a great weekend with some great bikes and great people. You can see more of Glenn's photos
It had been awhile since her bike had seen the road and needed some serious TLC. Daryl was up to the challenge and striped the bike down to it’s frame and started cleaning, repacking bearings, and replacing the drivetrain.
As with any overhaul there are usually some problems that arise. With the Super Course we found the old lead shift cable heads had frozen themselves into the shifters. A power drill and a steady hand easily solved this problem.
With a little love, some new parts, and fresh grease the Super Course is ready for it’s next adventure.
You can see more photos of the project 
